@John5097
As for why he didn't answer questions, well, he first sent an enquiry simply asking 'can you confirm?'. I responded asking him to answer the questions mentioned on my listing. I can tell that a guest who messages like this hasn't read the full listing.
Instead, he instant books.
I ask him again to please answer the questions. He then tells me that he can't see any questions because his English isn't good and asks me to decline. He doesn't even seem to realise that he's instant booked and doesn't know what that is and it takes a great many messages to explain it to him. Eventually we get there, I call Airbnb, they agree to a full refund but he needs to confirm the cancellation.
He then refuses to do that, saying it's not necessary. Many more emails explaining that it is necessary or he won't get his full refund.
Eventually he does it. Then he asks if he can still check in. Oh for ***** sake.
I really do not want to host this guest by this point, but to be polite, I ask him again to please answer the questions and explain where he can find them. Silence.
The Airbnb rep told me that if I choose to accept another booking to him, I should make it clear that the full refund was an EXCEPTION and that he would not get another if he changed his mind again.
So... why doesn't he answer the questions?
1. Big language barrier here. One of the hosts that left a review on his profile mentioned the the lady they hosted spoke very good English. If it is his wife, perhaps she handled all of this previously. There is no mention of him by name, only her or her and her husband. Sounds like if he is actually her husband and they use the same account, the hosts had minimal interaction with him. Maybe they are now separated or divorced and he now has to handle the bookings himself. Who knows?
2. Guest is really clueless. How many 19 year olds use an online booking platform but can't use an auto translate tool? Those might not be 100% accurate, but at least you get the jist. Don't tell me that you can't read questions because of your English. I can't read most languages, but I still manage to respond if someone messages me in a different one. Guest has no idea how Airbnb works, at all. No comprehension of the booking process, none of the cancellation policies. No idea that you should maybe tell the host a bit about yourself. Nothing. Nada.
3. Something dodgy is going on. The reviews left are for a lady (not him) and sometimes she is travelling with her husband, sometimes not. This was actually one of the things I asked him about, but that's when he fell completely silent after bombarding me with messages.
4. Perhaps the reviews are actually for his mother and father. That would not be so unusual. He is only 19. I've had children trying to book for their parents who didn't speak English, posing as them in the messages. I've had a husband pretend to be his wife using her profile. Of course, this never works out because the guest actually staying has not read a single thing. Probably they've seen the photos max and are unaware of important factors, e.g. that I have three cats!
None of these scenarios give me any confidence in this guest.
So, instant book is now off for that particular room.